Livingston Guatemala
Frequently Asked Questions
Only by water. No road connects Livingston to the rest of the country: lanchas come up from the sea or down the Río Dulce, and smaller ships anchor off town before sending their tenders to the landing.
It is a Garifuna, Afro-Caribbean and Creole enclave in a country of Maya highlands. The Garifuna, descendants of Africans and Arawak and Carib peoples deported from Saint Vincent in the late 18th century, live here alongside Q'eqchi' Maya families.
Calle Principal, which climbs from the landing toward the centre: fishermen, schoolchildren, women selling coconut bread and verandas where people talk in the shade. The town is essentially that one long sloping street.
The signature dish: fish, shrimp, crab and plantain in a coconut milk broth sharpened with coriander. The whole history of this coast sits in one bowl. Waterfront restaurants serve generous portions — allow the time; here the cooking simmers.
A stream tumbling through the forest in seven natural pools, a few kilometres northwest. You go by lancha then on foot along the shore; the last pool is deep enough to swim. Water shoes are worth having.
Yes, and it is the most memorable excursion. Just behind town the river enters a canyon of limestone walls draped in vegetation, where herons, pelicans and kingfishers nest. Lanchas stop at a hot spring welling up at the river's edge.
The definitive Garifuna rhythm, which sooner or later spills out of a yard or a café. The drums are part of the town's daily life, not a scheduled show.
Quehueche beach, on the way to the Siete Altares: dark sand fringed with coconut palms. Not a brochure beach, but a real village shore, complete with nets and sleeping dogs.
The quetzal. Bring cash: cards are still not widely accepted in town.
Very humid, with showers possible in any season, usually brief. A light rain shell beats an umbrella on the lanchas.
